Invincible
by MarauderGirl777
Summary: Maybe he wasn't so invincible after all. SasukexTenTen. Based on the song "Invincible" by Crossfade. Rated K .


_**"Invincible"**_

_**I memorized all the words for you**_

_**If you only knew..**_

She challenged his character in every way.

_**How much that's just not like me**_

He was the careless, heartless, stoic Uchiha. He was strong, smart, cunning.. _Invincible._

So why did one little female shatter everything he based his life on?

_**I wait up late every night**_

_**Just to hear your voice**_

Her laughter broke the walls he placed around himself in the presence of others.

It made him want to laugh too.

_**But you don't know that's nothing like me..**_

When he'd come back to Konoha after the destruction of his brother, he was accepted by few. Naruto and Sakura were among those that did. Everyone else looked at him like he was trash.

She didn't.

She didn't throw herself at him like Naruto did, or cry non-stop over his return like Sakura did; it was funny to him that he appreciated _her _'welcome back' the most. She merely acted like he'd gotten back from some long mission. She only smiled and asked how he was doing, and didn't try to make idle chatter. what amazed him about her was that she knew exactly _what _to say, and _when _to say it. She knew when and when not to talk.

She didn't cling to him, but she didn't shun him. That was what he wanted.

_**You know I wonder how you already figured out**_

_**All these things that I try to hide**_

He found himself going into her weapons shop on occasion; just to talk to her. She made the stupidest jokes, and he sometimes suspected that it was just to try to make him smile. Sometimes.. it even worked.

She did just the right things to break his shield and make him vulnerable.

_**All this time I've been hoping you don't find out**_

_**All these things that I hide on the inside..**_

He could be so mean, sometimes. He could tell that it hurt her, but she didn't let it deter her. A few times, he'd brought her to tears. She didn't make him leave, though.. He had to leave. Oddly, it hurt him to see her upset.

_**I can't be held responsible!**_

_**This is all so new to me**_

He's wait a day or two, build his defenses and resolve back up, and then go see her again. And it was like he'd never said anything to hurt her. It was the same small smile and "Hey, Sasuke-san" that usually greeted him.

And it just amazed him, how she could take everything in stride.

_**Just when I think I'm invicible**_

_**You come and happen to me..**_

One day, after a particularly nast thing he'd said to her, he'd come into her shop, bearing a small bouquet of flowers. He felt highly embarrassed; so embarrassed that he really hoped she wasn't there so that he didn't have to face her with them.

Of course, she was there, and he watched the same small smile grace her face as her brown eyes lifted to meet his own hues.

_**I want to make sure everything is perfect for you**_

_**If you only knew**_

"Uhm," he mumbled, one hand in his pocket as he approached the counter. The other hand held the flowers out to her.

She took them, her smile brightening considerably. "Thank you.. They're beautiful."

He didn't know what to say. He sincerely hoped his face wasn't red.. He'd never done something like that for anyone.

_**That's not like me to follow through..**_

"I went into Ino's shop for them," he mumbled. "Told her I was getting flowers for my mother's grace."

TenTen chuckled, poking his cheek. "Wouldn't want to lose that 'Big Bad Uchiha' image, ne'?"

"Hn'."

"Thank you, nonetheless.." she said, nodding and grinning.

_**Maybe even give up all these dead-end dreams**_

_**Just to be with you**_

_**But you don't know that's nothing like me..**_

Mission time. An Akatsuki was spotted on the Land of Fire's border. A team of six was to go and take him down.

_**Hey yea I wonder how you already figured out**_

_**All these things that I try to hide**_

It was Shikamaru, Kiba, Kakashi, Genma, himself, and _her. _He didn't want her along on the trip.

He didn't want her hurt.

_**All this time I've been hoping you don't find out**_

They leaped through the trees at a pace only Anbu could accomplish. Their goal: one of the three surviving Akatsuki - Hoshigaki Kisame.

Sasuke kept a close eye on her, but kept discreet about it.. or so he hoped.

_**All these things that I hide on the inside..**_

He felt so strange, being protective of someone. He'd never been protective of anyone before. It wasn't _normal _for him. However, he couldn't stop himself from joining her in their journey through the trees in the direction of their target. Genma, a decent chakra sensor, followed Kisame's rather large amount of chakra, leading the team as well.

Each member had a valuable role in the team. Shikamaru was the strategist, and was going to formulate a plan as soon as Kakashi and Sasuke analyzed the shark-nin. TenTen knew all there was to know about weapons, and, in addition, she'd fought the shinobi before, and therefore knew about some of his abilities. Every member was valuable to the team.

_**I can't be held responsible!**_

_**This is all so new to me**_

Sasuke's sharp eyes caught sight of the clouded cloak in the distance. He activated his Sharingan discreetly, before advancing forward to the front of the team, next to Genma. "We're getting closer," the Uchiha murmured, crimson hues dead-set ahead of him.

"We've got to approach the situation carefully," was Genma's reply. "Shikamaru, we're getting close. What's your idea?"

"I need maybe one or two of us just to attack," Shikamaru said from behind them. The listened intently. "I need to assess his attacks and movements. Then, I can make a plan."

"Who should attack?" Sasuke asked.

"I will," came a feminine voice from behind them. Apparently, TenTen had been listening.

"Absolutely not," Sasuke hissed before he could stop himself.

TenTen blinked, taken aback, before calmly replying, "Sasuke-san, I've got the most experience with this guy. I think I can handle him for a little bit."

"No, you can't," he shot back, teeth gritted. He was being stupid. Incredibly, impossibly stupid. This was NOT Sasuke Uchiha.

So who was it?

_**Just when I think I'm invincible**_

_**You come and happen to me**_

"Sasuke-san, you're not stopping me from doing this," TenTen said firmly, yet gently. She sped up to begin leaping alongside the Uchiha, before plowing ahead, unlocking a large scroll from the pack on her back. "Watch my back, guys!" She called, looking back and grinning at them over her shoulder.

Sasuke watched her get farther away as she chased after the criminal ahead of them.

He desperately hoped for her safety.

_**Now I'm waking up!**_

_**I've finally had enough**_

_**Of this wreck of a lifestyle **_

_**I never thought I'd survive it**_

This was ridiculous. He wasn't supposed to _care! _He was _Sasuke Uchiha. _He killed his own brother, ditched his best friends, betrayed his village..

He supposed that he was so used to being treated certain ways. When something different came along.. it took him by surprise.

_**Now I'm taking back**_

_**All I gave up for that**_

_**Leave my pain behind**_

_**Wash these stains from my life**_

His eyes scanned ahead of him for any signs of her. He heard the clas of weapons, and soon they came upon the kunoichi, was was facing off with the shark-nin. Sasuke was impressed with her arsenal of weapons. She was very skilled with them, but she didn't seem to be having much of an effect on the man. She hadn't gotten hurt yet, however, and that was good; but it didn't keep him from worrying. When she began to struggle, he grit his teeth, huffing. "This is ridiculous, Shikamaru!" the dark-haired male growled. "We need to help her!"

Shikamaru looked at him like he'd grown another head. "What's gotten into you, Sasuke? You're acting very strange.."

_**Just when I thought**_

_**All was lost**_

_**You came and you made it all okay..**_

He heard her scream.

_**I can't be held responsible!**_

"TenTen!"

She was falling. He used chakra to push himself off of the limb he was on, diving head-first towards her.

_**This is all so new to me**_

He reached out for her, and grabbed her sleeve in the nick of time. He flipped his body around, before grabbing onto a branch with his free hand. His other arm held the kunoichi about her waist carefully. "Just hold on," he said breathlessly as he looked for ways to get out of the predicament he was currently in.

_**Just when I think I'm invincible**_

"Sasuke!"

He looked up to see Shikamaru looking down at him from above. "Sasuke, we have to go," Shikamaru urged. "TenTen will be fine. We need you!"

He looked down at the brunette under his arm.

_**You come and happen to me..**_

Blood was beginning to soak through her white shirt. It was torn, probably from Kisame's sword.

_**I can't be held responsible!**_

"Sasuke, _now!" _Shikamaru yelled.

He looked back up at the team leader.

_**This is all so new to me**_

He looked back down at her.

_**Just when I think I'm invincible**_

He knew as he looked at her pained face that he couldn't leave her. instead of giving Shikamaru a "no", Sasuke only put his feet on the trunk of the tree he was hanging from and ran up it, before flipping to turn back in the direction they came from.

"Sasuke!" Shikamaru called, but the Uchiha ignored him. He sped off, Shikamaru's voice fading into the distance.

He looked down at her face.

He made the right decision.

_**You come and happen to me..**_

He'd almost fallen asleep, waiting for her to wake up. After scolding him for dumping the mission, Sakura had set to work on TenTen's injuries.

Sasuke didn't care. He only wanted to make sure she would be alright.

_**I memorized all the words for you**_

When she finally woke, he was right there beside the bed, trying to stay awake. He noticed she was awake after a moment. "Are you alright?" he asked, coal-colored hues looking down at her.

"For having a large gash on my stomach, sure," she replied, chuckling weakly.

A small smile split his face.

_**If you only knew..**_

"How'd the mission go..?"

"I don't know," Sasuke replied truthfully.

"You.. Abandoned the mission for me?" Her eyes widened slightly.

He looked away. "So what if I did?"

He felt a small hand pressto his cheek. He looked at her, mildly surprised, but soon, his hand rose to rest over hers.

She smiled warmly at him. "So the big bad Uchiha isn't so bad after all, huh.."

He grunted. "Hn'."

She laughed, and that made him smile. He wasn't so invincible after all.

_**How much that's just not like me.**_


End file.
